Cloud Computing Infrastructure, Method and Application

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a cloud computing infrastructure having a rights management device, which is designed to manage operating rights for at least one application which can be executed in the cloud computing infrastructure for the purpose of controlling the operation of the at least one application in the cloud computing infrastructure, to evaluate the managed operating rights with respect to execution of the at least one application and to output an execution enable on the basis of the evaluation of the operating rights, and having an execution device which is designed to execute the at least one application in the cloud computing infrastructure on the basis of the output execution enable. The present invention also discloses a method for operating at least one application in a cloud computing infrastructure and an application for execution in a cloud computing infrastructure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cloud computing infrastructure, to a method for operating at least one application in a cloud computing infrastructure, and to an application for execution in a cloud computing infrastructure.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Modern computer applications are being operated more and more frequently in a so-called cloud or cloud computing infrastructure. Reference is also made to cloud computing in this context.

Cloud computing is usually understood as meaning an abstracted IT infrastructure in which the resources (for example computing capacity, data memory, network capacities) can be dynamically adapted to the resource requirement. This abstracted IT infrastructure can usually be accessed via a network.

In this case, an application is operated in a cloud using defined technical interfaces and protocols.

In the case of a cloud, the hardware is therefore not operated or provided by the user of an application himself. Rather, abstracted hardware is hired from one or more cloud providers as a service which may also be geographically remote, for example. The user's applications and data are then no longer on the local computer or in a corporate computing center but rather in the so-called cloud.

The cloud is usually accessed via a network, for example the Internet. A cloud may also be operated by a company, for example, as a so-called private cloud in which the abstracted IT infrastructure can be reached via a network, for example an intranet, belonging to the company.

Since abstracted hardware is provided in a cloud, the number of resources, for example memory or computing power, of the abstracted hardware can be requested or additionally requested as required and within the scope of the existing actual infrastructure.

In this case, provision is not made nowadays to control the execution of an application in the cloud. For example, applications which are usually enabled for operation only for a particular computer can be installed in a virtual system. After installation, this virtual system can be copied or “cloned” any desired number of times in a cloud.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a possibility for flexibly controlling the operation of an application in a cloud computing infrastructure.

This object is achieved, according to the invention, by the features of the independent claims.

Accordingly, the following are provided:

-   -   a cloud computing infrastructure having a rights management         device which is designed to manage operating rights for at least         one application which can be executed in the cloud computing         infrastructure for the purpose of controlling the operation of         the at least one application in the cloud computing         infrastructure, to evaluate the managed operatingrights with         respect to execution of the at least one application, and to         output an execution enable on the basis of the evaluation of the         operating rights, and having an execution device which is         designed to execute the at least one application in the cloud         computing infrastructure on the basis of the execution enable         which has been output;     -   a method for operating at least one application in a cloud         computing infrastructure, having the steps of managing operating         rights of an application which can be executed in the cloud         computing infrastructure, evaluating the managed operating         rights, generating an execution enable on the basis of the         evaluation of the operating rights, executing the at least one         application in the cloud computing infrastructure on the basis         of the generated execution enable;     -   an application for execution in a cloud computing infrastructure         according to the invention, the application having a computer         program product which is designed to allow execution of the         application only when a digital certificate of the cloud         computing infrastructure is valid.

The knowledge on which the present invention is based is that conventional cloud computing infrastructures can only inadequately monitor the execution of an application.

The idea on which the present invention is based now involves taking this knowledge into account and providing a possibility for controlling the execution of an application in a cloud computing infrastructure in a detailed manner.

For this purpose, the present invention provides a rights management device which manages operating rights for a respective application.

If the application is intended to be executed in the cloud computing infrastructure, the rights management device evaluates the operating rights in order to determine whether and under which conditions the application can be executed in the cloud computing infrastructure.

If this evaluation reveals that the respective application can be executed under the given conditions, the rights management device outputs an execution enable.

This execution enable is received by an execution device which executes or does not execute the respective application on the basis of the execution enable.

As a result, the present invention makes it possible to control the execution of applications in a cloud computing infrastructure in detail and to stipulate conditions under which execution of the respective application is intended to be possible in a cloud computing infrastructure.

Advantageous embodiments and developments emerge from the subclaims and from the description with reference to the figures.

In one embodiment, the execution device is designed to transmit an item of information relating to the resources consumed by the at least one application to the rights management device. This makes it possible to monitor the resources consumed by the respective application.

In one embodiment, the rights management device has a memory which is designed to store the information transmitted by the execution device. The rights management device also has a summation apparatus which is designed to use the stored transmitted information to calculate a sum of the resources consumed by the at least one application.

This makes it possible to log the set of resources consumed by the respective application and to store it for further evaluation.

In one embodiment, the operating rights have at least rights information which indicates the maximum available resources for the at least one application inside the cloud computing infrastructure. The rights management device also has an evaluation device which is designed to output an execution enable, which allows the at least one application to be executed, only when the calculated sum is less than the maximum available resources indicated by the operating rights for the at least one application. This makes it possible to specify in a very detailed manner how many resources can be consumed by an application and to accordingly control the execution of the application.

In one embodiment, the rights management device has an interface which is designed to couple the rights management device to a hardware dongle which has at least the operating rights for the at least one application. This makes it possible to use existing hardware dongles with the cloud computing infrastructure.

In one embodiment, the rights management device has a rights memory which is designed to store at least the operating rights for the at least one application. This makes it possible to easily manage the operating rights. For example, the operating rights may be stored in the form of a license file.

In one embodiment, the rights management device has a communication interface, the rights management device being designed to retrieve at least the operating rights for the at least one application from a server via the communication interface. This makes it possible to retrieve the operating rights from servers belonging to the manufacturer of the application or from other dedicated rights servers, for example.

In one embodiment, the cloud computing infrastructure has a certificate device which is designed to provide the at least one application with a digital certificate which is designed to confirm the functions of the rights management device and of the execution device to the application. As a result, the cloud computing infrastructure can be identified with respect to the application. Applications can therefore ensure, for example, that they are executed only in a cloud computing infrastructure which complies with the necessary standards for managing the operating rights.

In one embodiment, the cloud computing infrastructure has a computer infrastructure, the resources of which can be dynamically adapted to a resource requirement. Additionally or alternatively, the application is in the form of a computer program product and is designed to be executed in the cloud computing infrastructure and to provide users with a functionality predefined for the application.

In another embodiment, the cloud computing infrastructure does not have the rights management device, but rather the rights management device is designed to be part of the application.

The above refinements and developments can be combined with one another in any desired manner if useful. Further possible refinements, developments and implementations of the invention also comprise not explicitly mentioned combinations of features of the invention which are described above or are described below with respect to the exemplary embodiments. In particular, a person skilled in the art will also add individual aspects as improvements or additions to the respective basic form of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is explained in more detail below using the exemplary embodiments indicated in the schematic figures of the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a cloud computing infrastructure 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a method according to the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a further block diagram of a cloud computing infrastructure 1 according to the invention.

In all figures, identical or functionally identical elements and apparatuses have been provided with the same reference symbols unless stated otherwise.

Within the scope of this patent application, a cloud computing infrastructure is understood as meaning an infrastructure which consists of a combination of hardware and software. In this case, a multiplicity of computer systems and data networks form the hardware of the cloud computing infrastructure. The software which is executed on this hardware forms an abstracted or else “virtual” operating environment in this case, for example a virtual PC, on which the respective application can be executed.

The operating rights for the at least one application provide information on which resources can be consumed by the respective application in the cloud. The rights information contained in the operating rights can provide information on how much processor power, main memory, data memory, network power or the like can be consumed by an application in the cloud computing infrastructure, for example.

The information transmitted by the execution device to the rights management device comprises an item of information relating to how many resources are consumed by an application during operation. For example, this information may include the fact that an application uses 3 processor entities and/or occupies 16 GB of main memory and/or 2 TB of data memory in a database and/or 100 Mbit of transmission volume in a data network. Further information is possible depending on the embodiment.

Within the scope of this application, a digital certificate is understood as meaning a certificate which confirms that the function according to the invention is provided by a cloud computing infrastructure. That is to say, such a digital certificate can be checked by the respective application, for example by means of cryptographic methods. If the check is successful, the application can assume that the operating rights are checked by a rights management device. Such a digital certificate can be issued, for example, by an external certification body, for example the TOY.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a cloud computing infrastructure 1 according to the invention.

The cloud computing infrastructure 1 in FIG. 1 has a rights management device 2 which is coupled to an execution device 6. The rights management device 2 also has operating rights 4 which are used to control the operation of the at least one application 3 in the cloud computing infrastructure 1. The rights management device 2 is designed to evaluate the managed operating rights 4 and to transmit an execution enable 5 to the execution device 6 on the basis of the evaluation of the operating rights 4.

The execution device 6 then executes the at least one application 3 in the cloud computing infrastructure 1 on the basis of the execution enable 5 which has been output.

In one embodiment, the cloud computing infrastructure 1 has a multiplicity of computer systems, for example server systems, which execute a computer program which is designed to provide the resources of the computer systems as resources of the cloud computing infrastructure 1. In further embodiments, the cloud computing infrastructure 1 may be the existing cloud computing infrastructure 1 of a provider of a cloud computing infrastructure 1, for example Amazon EC2, or the like.

In one embodiment, the cloud computing infrastructure 1 may be operated in a company's intranet, for example, and may provide applications for the computers in the intranet. In such a case, rights management for the respective applications can also be carried out when there is no connection to a server belonging to the manufacturer of the application or to a license server which can be reached via the Internet, for example. In another embodiment, the cloud computing infrastructure 1 may be reachable via the Internet by all computers connected to the Internet.

In one embodiment, the rights management device 2 and the execution device 6 are in the form of computer program products which are executed on the computer systems which form the cloud computing infrastructure 1. In another embodiment, the rights management device 2 and the execution device 6 may also be in the form of hardware, firmware, software or any desired combination thereof.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a method according to the invention.

In a first step S1, operating rights 4 of an application 3 which can be executed in the cloud computing infrastructure 1 are managed.

In a second step S2, the managed operating rights 4 are evaluated.

An execution enable 5 is then generated in a third step S3 on the basis of the evaluation of the operating rights 4.

Finally, in a fourth step S4, the at least one application 3 is executed in the cloud computing infrastructure 1 on the basis of the generated execution enable 5.

In further embodiments of the method, a multiplicity of further steps are possible. Furthermore, the sequence of steps can vary in comparison with the embodiment described above.

One embodiment provides for an item of information 7 relating to the resources consumed by the at least one application 3 to be recorded. Furthermore, the recorded information 7 is used to calculate a sum of the resources consumed by the at least one application 3. In one embodiment, this sum is used to determine whether or not the respective application 3 has already consumed the resources enabled for this application 3.

In one embodiment, the operating rights 4 are retrieved from a server. This server may be, for example, the server belonging to a manufacturer of the application 3 who stores the corresponding operating rights 4 for at least one customer on the server.

FIG. 3 shows a further block diagram of a cloud computing infrastructure 1 according to the invention.

The cloud computing infrastructure 1 in FIG. 3 largely resembles the cloud computing infrastructure 1 from FIG. 1 differs from the cloud computing infrastructure 1 from FIG. 1 to the effect that the rights management device 2 has a memory 8 which is designed to store the information 7 relating to the resources consumed by the respective application 3. The memory 8 is coupled to a summation apparatus 9 which uses the information 7 relating to the resources consumed by an application 3 to calculate a sum of the respectively consumed resources.

The rights management device 2 also has a rights memory 12 which is designed to store the operating rights 4 for the at least one application 3. The rights management device 2 also has an interface 11 and a communication interface 13 which are coupled to the rights memory 12. In this case, the interface 11 can be coupled to a hardware dongle which comprises the operating rights 4. The communication interface 13 may be an Ethernet interface, for example, which can be used to retrieve operating rights 4 from a server.

Finally, the rights management device 2 has an evaluation device 10 which is coupled to the summation apparatus 9 and to the rights memory 12. In one embodiment, the evaluation device 10 compares the sum of the consumed resources with an item of rights information 7 which is contained in the operating rights 4 and provides information on how many resources can be consumed by the respective application 3 in the cloud computing infrastructure 1.

If the respective application 3 in the cloud computing infrastructure 1 has consumed fewer resources than indicated by the rights information contained in the operating rights 4, the evaluation device 10 outputs an execution enable 5 which indicates to the execution device 6 that the respective application 3 can be executed in the cloud computing infrastructure 1. In this case, the execution device 6 can query the execution enable 5 before starting an application 3 or else continuously or repeatedly during operation of an application 3.

The cloud computing infrastructure 1 also has a certificate device 14 which has a digital certificate 15 and provides the respective application 3 which is executed in the execution device 6 with said certificate. In this case, the digital certificate 15 has an item of information or confirmation relating to the fact that the cloud computing infrastructure 1 has the components according to the invention and therefore provides rights management. This makes it possible for a manufacturer of an application 3, for example, to provide a possibility for the respective application 3 to check only whether or not the cloud computing infrastructure 1 is certified. The application 3 may output an error message, for example, if the cloud computing infrastructure 1 is not certified. The manufacturer of the application 3 therefore need not provide any separate copy protection but need only check whether the cloud computing infrastructure 1 in which the application is operated is certified.

In one embodiment, the memory 8 and the rights memory 12 are in the form of RAM memories of the cloud computing infrastructure 1. In further embodiments, the memory 8 and the rights memory 12 are in the form of hard disks or the like.

In one embodiment, the interface 11 is in the form of a USB interface. In further embodiments, the interface 11 is in the form of a serial interface, a parallel interface or any other desired digital interface.

In one embodiment, the communication interface 13 is in the form of an Ethernet interface and/or a WLAN interface and/or a digital bus or network interface.

In one embodiment, the components of the cloud computing infrastructure 1, for example the rights management device 2, the execution device 6 and, for example, the summation apparatus 9, the evaluation device 10 and the certificate device 14, are in the form of software components of the cloud computing infrastructure 1. In further embodiments, the components of the cloud computing infrastructure 1 are in the form of hardware, firmware, software or any desired combination thereof.

Although the present invention was described above using preferred exemplary embodiments, it is not restricted thereto, but rather can be modified in various ways. In particular, the invention can be changed or modified in multifarious ways without departing from the essence of the invention. 

1. A cloud computing infrastructure having a rights management device (2) which is designed to manage operating rights (4) for at least one application (3) which can be executed in the cloud computing infrastructure (1) for the purpose of controlling the operation of the at least one application (3) in the cloud computing infrastructure, to evaluate the managed operating rights (4) with respect to execution of the at least one application, and to output an execution enable (5) on the basis of the evaluation of the operating rights (4); having an execution device (6) which is designed to execute the at least one application (3) in the cloud computing infrastructure (1) on the basis of the execution enable (5) which has been output.
 2. The cloud computing infrastructure as claimed in claim 1, the execution device (6) being designed to transmit an item of information (7) relating to the resources consumed by the at least one application (3) to the rights management device (2).
 3. The cloud computing infrastructure as claimed in claim 2, the rights management device (2) having a memory (8) which is designed to store the information (7) transmitted by the execution device (6); and the rights management device (2) having a summation apparatus (9) which is designed to use the stored transmitted information (7) to calculate a sum of the resources consumed by the at least one application (3).
 4. The cloud computing infrastructure as claimed in claim 3, the operating rights (4) having at least rights information which indicates the maximum available resources for the at least one application (3) inside the cloud computing infrastructure (1); and the rights management device (2) having an evaluation device (10) which is designed to output the execution enable (5), which allows the at least one application (3) to be executed, only when the calculated sum is less than the maximum available resources indicated by the operating rights (4) for the at least one application (3).
 5. The cloud computing infrastructure as claimed in one of the preceding claims, the rights management device (2) having an interface (11) which is designed to couple the rights management device (2) to a hardware dongle which has at least the operating rights (4) for the at least one application (3).
 6. The cloud computing infrastructure as claimed in one of the preceding claims, the rights management device (2) having a rights memory (12) which is designed to store at least the operating rights (4) for the at least one application (3).
 7. The cloud computing infrastructure as claimed in one of the preceding claims, the rights management device (2) having a communication interface (13), the rights management device (2) being designed to retrieve at least the operating rights for the at least one application (3) from a server via the communication interface (13).
 8. The cloud computing infrastructure as claimed in one of the preceding claims, the cloud computing infrastructure (1) having a certificate device (14) which is designed to provide the at least one application (3) with a digital certificate (15) which is designed to confirm the functions of the rights management device (2) and of the execution device (6) to the application (3).
 9. The cloud computing infrastructure as claimed in one of the preceding claims, the cloud computing infrastructure (1) having a computer infrastructure, the resources of which can be dynamically adapted to a resource requirement; and/or the application (3) being in the form of a computer program product and being designed to be executed in the cloud computing infrastructure (1) and to provide users with a functionality predefined for the application (3).
 10. A method for operating at least one application (3) in a cloud computing infrastructure (1), having the steps of: managing (S1) operating rights (4) of an application (3) which can be executed in the cloud computing infrastructure (1); evaluating (S2) the managed operating rights (4); generating (S3) an execution enable (5) on the basis of the evaluation of the operating rights (4); executing (S4) the at least one application (3) in the cloud computing infrastructure (1) on the basis of the generated execution enable (5).
 11. The method as claimed in claim 10, an item of information (7) relating to the resources consumed by the at least one application (3) being recorded; and the recorded information (7) being used to calculate a sum of the resources consumed by the at least one application (3).
 12. The method as claimed in claim 11, the operating rights (4) having at least rights information which indicates the maximum available resources for the at least one application (3) inside the cloud computing infrastructure (1); and an execution enable (5), which allows the at least one application (3) to be executed, being generated only when the calculated sum is less than the maximum available resources indicated by the operating rights (4) for the at least one application (3).
 13. The method as claimed in one of the preceding method-based claims, the operating rights (4) being stored on a hardware dongle which can be coupled to the cloud computing infrastructure (1); and/or the operating rights (4) being stored in a rights memory (12) of the cloud computing infrastructure; and/or the operating rights (4) being retrieved from a server.
 14. The method as claimed in one of the preceding method-based claims, the at least one application (3) being provided with a digital certificate (15) which is designed to confirm the performance of the method according to the invention to the application (3).
 15. An application (3) for execution in a cloud computing infrastructure (1) as claimed in one of claims 1-9, the application (3) having a computer program product which is designed to allow execution of the application (3) only when a digital certificate (15) of the cloud computing infrastructure (1) is valid. 